


Creative License

by thecurlyginger



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Characters Writing Fanfiction, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-12 08:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2102946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecurlyginger/pseuds/thecurlyginger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's no protocol for this, no self-help guide or ten easy steps to recover. Leslie's beyond that now, anyway. She's read her boyfriend's fanfiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Creative License

**Author's Note:**

> This one was a lot of fun to write. I really hope you like it!

There's no protocol for this, no self-help guide or ten easy steps to recover. Leslie's beyond that now, anyway. She's read her boyfriend's fanfiction.

It was an accident – really. After instant messaging with Ben for a couple of hours while he finished up a late night in the office in DC, she did what she usually does: copy the best bits and paste them into a word document so she can reread them when she's lonely. Long distance is difficult. But then when trying to to paste a URL into her browser, she accidentally pasted one of Ben's messages and hit enter. The comment about how much he misses her nose scrunching up when she wakes up still exhausted didn't bring up much. His username TallTyrionLannister, however, brought illustrious results.

Instantly before her was posts he's made in forums, from the original _Star Trek_ to the new reincarnation and every television adaptation in between. Apparently, Ben's most recent purchase on eBay was a Boba Fett ice cube tray. But nothing can top the link to his fanfiction page. Leslie clicked on it tentatively, unsure of what might be lurking there.

She knows what fanfiction is. You can't be an avid _Harry Potter_ fan and have basic understandings of the internet without coming across it. There's never been any interest in reading it, though, with weird pairings that don't make sense to her and graphic pornographic scenes that J.K. Rowling did not include in her epic saga for a reason. Leslie distinctly remembers her eye twitching while skimming through one of the aforementioned smutty works, her brain trying to work around the fact that this story depicted Hermione, her literary hero, with Draco Malfoy, a character she loathed. It was well-written but too much. Her eye twitched the same when scrolling along a list of Ben's works.

No _Harry Potter_ (thank goodness), but he's written for nearly every other science fiction and fantasy film and television show he's ever mentioned to her in passing. They're rated T at most for violence, another relief for Leslie because she can't fathom a world in which Ben - quiet, nerdy, wiry Ben - spends his time writing graphic porn. She hesitated over clicking on any of them, not familiar with the characters or stories until she came across a _Doctor Who_ fic a quarter of the way down. Having watched a few episodes in passing and assuring herself that it's late and she'll only skim it, she clicked the link.

It was bizarre. The writing was great and descriptive, but that's just it - the details were what got to her. He nailed the characterization in regards to tones of voice and motive, but their internal thoughts reflected _Ben's voice_. It felt like reading his personal journal (if he were a Time Lord from Gallifrey), so Leslie exited out of her browser after a couple of paragraphs and physically distanced herself from her laptop. Walking straight to the bathroom, she readied herself for bed, grabbing the laptop only to scroll through some news before she would turn off the lights. She was drawn in, though. Leslie needed to know how the fic ended, certainly only concerned with the story and not at all with Ben's involvement. Definitely not.

Clicking through her browser's history and back into the story, Leslie finished all 9,571 words of how the Doctor and Donna Noble manage to save the day after he begrudgingly takes her to the planet of the hats. It's funny and deep and leaves Leslie in her current predicament. She's read Ben's fanfiction and feels like she should tell him.

“Leslie, I'm not, uh, big on this whole internet thing,” Ann says when Leslie comes into her office first thing in the morning. “But if it feels wrong, then you should tell him. You can't keep secrets in your relationship, especially when it's long distance.” Leslie pats Ann's shoulder in thanks and wanders to the Parks and Recreation Department. Ann means well, but Leslie needs someone who _knows_ what she's witnessed, someone who's been in the metaphorical trenches of fanfiction and knows what she's gotten herself into.

Donna's filing her nails at her desk and looks annoyed when Leslie approaches. “Donna! You're savvy with the web! Have you ever read fanfiction?”

Scoffing, Donna puts down the nail filer and puts her hands on her desk. “Free, graphic descriptions of women receiving pleasure by the likes of Robert Pattinson, Ryan Gosling, and Michael Fassbender? You _bet_ I have. What's up, Knope? Want some recommendations?”

“Actually, I want some advice. Have you ever stumbled upon fanfiction written by someone you know?” Leslie waits in anticipation for Donna to respond. She doesn't expect Donna's mouth to gape open with giddy shock.

Pushing away from her desk to stand, she moves, laughing all the way to Tom's desk. “You owe me twenty bucks! I _told_ you Skinny Legs writes fanfic!”

“What?! No way! Benihana is a huge nerd but not _that_ big of a nerd!” Tom reaches to grab his wallet from his back pocket and sees Leslie. “Leslie, you've gotta be kidding me.”

“I did not say Ben writes fanfiction! I just asked if you knew anyone who does and if you've read it and what to do if you have and now it's blown way out of proportion so I'm leaving.” Leslie heads to the door, her run-on sentence doing nothing to plead her case. Turning back around, she adds, “Do _not_ bring this up with him or Andy because then April will know and it'll be a big mess!” She rushes out of there, Donna's victorious laughter and Tom's protests echoing behind her.

 _Crapsicle_. She tries to reassure herself – after all, Donna and Tom don't know his username and she never explicitly said she was talking about Ben. Leslie deletes her browser history to be certain and hates herself for hesitating to accept Ben's Skype call late that night.

“H-Hey,” she stammers. Ben looks a little worn out in his fancy hotel room, a definite upgrade from the Pawnee Super Suites Motel.

He sips from a fast food cup and waves at her. “Hey yourself. How was work?”

“Not too bad,” _aside from the fact that now everyone knows you write scenarios with fictional characters._ She takes a deep breath. “So something funny happened last night after we stopped chatting. I may have found something online... now don't get mad, but I think I might have accidentally--”

Ben holds up a hand. “I know. April brought it up today, and then we read some; it was a weird experience all around.”

Leslie's slightly relieved at his lax reaction but still guilty for her actions. “I'm sorry for snooping, Ben.”

“Don't be. It's on the internet, and I'm not ashamed. But if Tom calls me again and requests to be an original character in a _Lost_ fic, I'm going to make sure his character dies first.” Ben holds a serious face until he breaks. Leslie laughs with him, feeling less ashamed now that he's nonchalant about the entire thing.

That's why it shocks her when Donna sends an email a week later with the subject “Read this NOW,” the body of the email only containing a link. Leslie clicks it, confused by the urgency of the message. What she finds is... well... unlike anything she's read before.

* * *

 

**It's a normal day in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. The townspeople are angrily demanding permits and blaming the errors of their own ways on the ragtag group of government employees who make Pawnee a better place. And, because it's a normal day, there's a crisis.**

**“There's a crisis,” Leslie Knope, the Deputy Director of the department, announces. Her blonde hair shines nearly as bright as she does, her cheer infinite and her efforts endless. “Two state auditors are coming to tamper with our budget. We can't let this happen!”**

**Ron Swanson, the mustachioed Director, steps in. “Nonsense. The government shouldn't be spending tax payer's money. Now if you'll excuse me, I have calls to ignore and a second breakfast to get to.” As he closes the door to his office behind him, Leslie turns to the rest of her team.**

**“It's been a good run, you guys,” Tom Haverford says, “but without the department, I'm free to chill in my slippies and explore my routes to fame. See you guys later.”**

**But Leslie holds out an arm to stop the small man. “Not so fast. This isn't just your job, this is your service to the people of Pawnee at stake. Without us, Pawnee will sit at home and get fat and less sociable.”**

**“So you're saying Pawnee will just turn into a bunch of Jerry's,” Donna deadpans, looking worriedly at the co-worker in question. “Yeah, we cannot let that happen. There aren't many catches left, so I need to keep the guys in this town _slim_ and _fit_.”**

**“That's the spirit Donna!” Leslie exclaims, frantically cleaning up the office to make it pristine for their visitors. “April, do you have any ideas?”**

**April Ludgate glares up from her desk. “I say we burn City Hall to the ground with them in it.”**

**“No, that'd be arson and either way we'd lose the department,” Leslie explains while everyone looks at the frightening girl. “Maybe don't talk when they get here...”**

**Before Leslie can brainstorm further, two men walk through the department's doors. Ron steps out of his office to greet them. “Hello, gentlemen. I'm Ron Swanson, and I--”**

**“Ron Swanson,” Chris Traeger repeats. After Leslie introduces herself, Chris repeats her name as well. “My name is Chris Traeger and I _literally_ cannot be any more excited to be in the greatest town in the greatest state in the greatest country in the greatest continent in the greatest hemisphere in the greatest planet... of this galaxy.” The room is silent, taking in this insanely fit and cheerful man.**

**While Chris drones his introduction on, Leslie finds herself captivated by his partner, Ben Wyatt. Lean with amazing hair and taste in clothes (no matter what Tom thinks), Ben is here to save the town – not to destroy it. But like with every other town, he's misunderstood to be the problem rather than the solution. Leslie Knope sees him no differently, despite his handsomeness.**

**“You're a jerk!” And with all the anger and strength she can muster, she grabs Ben's binder and flings it at him.**

**“If everyone could calm down,” Chris says pointedly, “we'll all grab an energy-boosted smoothie and sit down in our office to go over the numbers.” By “we,” Chris means that Ben will explain all of the numbers while Chris sympathetically nods in between jumping jacks. Ron giddily agrees with all the cuts necessary and even suggests some more while Leslie sits, fuming.**

**Sensing some tension, Ben pulls her aside privately. “I didn't cause this Ms. Knope; your government did.”**

**“Oh Ben, you have such a nice butt. It's a shame that you can't do anything to help these cuts... disappear.” She leans in to kiss him, but Ben makes the noble sacrifice of pushing her back.**

**“I'm flattered, and for the record, definitely interested so let's not beat around the bush for a few months and just get together when all of this is organized. But until then, I need you to cooperate with me.” He brushes aside his hair, and Leslie swoons, giving in to his charm and to their imminent fate.**

**In a few months when everything is put back together again, Leslie Knope on Ben's arm, they gaze at their successful joint efforts of the Pawnee Harvest Festival. “Isn't it beautiful?” She asks.**

**“Almost as beautiful as you,” he responds smoothly, and they kiss – a sunset in the distance and another town safe, thanks to Ben Wyatt.**

* * *

 

Leslie is dumbfounded in her seat, torn between laughing and calling Ben to see if he's still sane. Her call goes straight to voicemail, so she assumes he's in a meeting. Instead, she visits her old department to see them all up in arms.

“Look, he might have been a little overzealous on the Meagle charm, but he nailed you, Tom,” Donna comments.

Tom looks offended. “Your weird attraction to anyone male with abs was dead on. But he called me small! _And_ he totally mischaracterized me; I don't call slippers 'slippies.' They're 'slip-slips.' Chris, what do you think?”

“I literally have never been more accurately described, and I've been featured in countless health magazines,” he responds, and no one in the room can disagree.

The author shows up at City Hall that evening with April, both surprising their loved ones with a weekend visit. He stops by Leslie's office first for a loving embrace. She scarcely has a chance to warn him before they step into the Parks Department and everyone turns to him, Tom giving off a death glare.

“You have some nerve coming in here,” Tom says angrily while gathering his things to go home for the weekend. “That's the last time I ask you to write me into anything. They're slip-slips!” He calls, walking out the door.

Donna pats him on the back and suggests that he gets into writing “the good stuff” before leaving. Ben's about to ask what she means, but Leslie stops him, shaking her head solemnly.

“I didn't get to be in it,” Andy complains while April consoles him with kisses along his cheeks. “Couldn't I be expertly shining shoes or something?”

Patting him gently on the back, Ben offers, “I'll write you into the next one, okay?” He backs away though when April approaches, afraid she'll have a grievance too.

She just stares at him. “You captured me well.” Before Ben can thank her for the compliment, she's dragging Andy away so they can spend their weekend together.

Finally alone, Leslie looks at Ben incredulously. “We're standing in the exact same spot where we met, and you're going to tell me that I could barely resist your charm and tried to bribe you with sex?” She thinks back to their actual first meeting, to the way her hands shook with nerves and frustration that her hard work to make Lot 48 a park meant nothing. She of course recognized that Ben was (and still is) attractive, but he was the enemy, the physical representation of the biggest barrier she had to date. Now, he's her boyfriend and still her barrier - her barrier against the world.

“Maybe I took some liberties with that,” he admits. They kiss in the room they met and their relationship blossomed in, their life together a story in and of itself. 

**Author's Note:**

> For the record (and if you need proof, you can look at one of my other works), I have no problems with smutty/explicit fanfic. I just figured that Leslie would hold works like HP up on a pedestal and not approve of anything that's not canon. :)


End file.
